Photo captured by Amanda Barker, Vivitography

June 23, 2010

Bradley's Visit with Cardiologist

Just a quick update....Yesterday, Bradley met with his cardiologist about the clots in his lung.  He has 3 clots in his right lung that are causing him to be short of breath and fatigued.  His doctor is hoping that by adjusting his blood-thinning medication and making his blood thinner, it will break up the clots.  And it should also lower the pressure in his pulmonary artery, which is the goal in all of this testing, and will make him breathe better and feel better. 

If that pressure gets low enough, then he could still have an ablation done, which was the procedure planned last week that was canceled when they discovered the high pressure.  That procedure will help with his flutter that he has, but he hasn't been in flutter for 3 weeks, so that will all depend on the pressure and how he's feeling.

We were also really encouraged when his cardiologist said that if the pressure gets low enough and stays low, then he might not have to have a heart and lung transplant, but rather just a heart transplant.  This was such good news to hear, because when I searched for heart/lung transplants, I read on one website that those are only done about 20 times a year in all of North America.  If we can rule out a heart and lung transplant, then that would be such a praise.  So, that's what we're praying for....to keep his pressure down so much that a lung transplant wouldn't need to be considered.

Overall, it was a great visit and we were really encouraged.  He has to have his blood levels checked every week to make sure they are within the range required to break up those clots.  To hear that this has such an easy solution was such a blessing (and that the pressure wasn't coming from something like an undiagnosed disease).  Thank you for all of your prayers in this.  We know and rest in the fact that God is in control!!

Blessings.

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